“Mother, I think Hongying has plenty of milk now, so Funiu won’t go hungry. That dairy goat is just a burden to us, so why don’t we slaughter it? That way, we won’t all go hungry like this, right?”
As Wu Cuihua spoke, she felt more and more justified, and her expression became more self-righteous, as if she were thinking of everyone's best interests.
The Li family sat in a circle to eat, and it was quite lively.
As soon as she finished speaking, there was a deathly silence.
Wu Cuihua felt a little guilty after being glared at, but since she had already said it, she couldn't take it back and could only look at Old Lady Li with longing eyes.
Old Mrs. Li's face was gloomy. She slammed the bowl down and said coldly.
"That sheep is Fu Niu'er's food! I've been a bit lenient with you usually, and you're even thinking about the child's food?"
"Let me tell you, second son's wife, you'd better give up on this idea, or don't blame me for being ruthless! These days, which family doesn't have a few daughters-in-law starving to death?"
Wu Cuihua turned pale with fright and shrank back, no longer daring to utter a sound.
Jiayin, who had been nestled in Tao Hongying's arms, naturally heard these words and was moved that her grandmother stood up for her.
She tried to move her little head to the other side and stretched out her little hand towards Grandma Li.
Upon seeing this, Grandma Li quickly took her granddaughter from Tao Hongying's arms and gently patted her with her withered hands.
"Don't be afraid, Fu Niu'er. With Grandma here, no one else will let our Fu Niu'er go hungry."
Wu Cuihua felt stifled and wanted to say something, but Li Lao Er pulled her arm hard.
She looked up at everyone and realized that apart from the old lady Li who was coaxing Jiayin and still had a smile on her face, everyone else was looking at her coldly, including her husband and son.
Wu Cuihua quickly lowered her head and buried her face in the bowl, not daring to look up even though there was no porridge inside.
Jiayin pressed her ear against Grandma Li's chest, listening to her heartbeat, feeling incredibly moved and content.
The Li family truly cares for her, and because of this love and care, she absolutely cannot let the Li family go hungry!
That evening, Jiayin planned to secretly put some more grain into the grain bag after the Li family had fallen asleep.
But she overestimated the baby's stamina; before it was even fully dark, the baby had already fallen asleep, burping softly…
The night was quiet, and the Li family was exhausted after a long day of walking.
Everyone was sleeping soundly now, even Li Lao Er, who was on night watch, was dozing off against a rock by the fire.
Jiayin was suddenly awakened by the urge to urinate. She wanted to call out to wake Tao Hongying, who was sleeping beside her, but then she heard Tao Hongying's soft snoring and felt a little reluctant.
This woman gave her a new life, and she continued her long journey without even having the chance to rest and recover after childbirth.
Just as she was hesitating, two men approached the donkey cart, which Jiayin saw clearly.
Her previously dazed mind instantly cleared up!
Thief!
They watched as the two men crossed the donkey cart and headed straight for the dairy goat that was sleeping soundly under the tree.
Jiayin opened her little mouth and let out a loud howl.
Upon hearing the crying, Li Lao Er, who was on night watch, was jolted awake and sprang to his feet almost reflexively.
What are you two doing?!
As soon as he stood up, he saw two furtive figures under the tree. He immediately shouted and rushed over with the stick beside him.
The rest of the Li family were also awakened. They grabbed whatever tools were nearby and surrounded the two sheep thieves.
The two men were probably doing something like this for the first time, and had never seen anything like it before. They were so frightened that they froze, huddled together, and trembled.
Even so, one of them was still holding onto one of the goat's legs, whether he forgot to let go or didn't want to.
"You damned bastard, how dare you steal my sheep? I'll beat you to death!"
Wu Cuihua, who had been hiding behind, saw that the two men were too scared to move, so she got her act together and rushed up to kick them a few times.
Li Laosi stepped forward to try and pull the sheep out, but the man refused to let go.
The men of the Li family became even more enraged and, after holding the two men down, gave them a sound beating.
The two of them looked as thin as monkeys, with sunken cheeks.
They had no strength to fight back and could only wail incessantly, presumably because they were starving.
Grandma Li and Tao Hongying, who was holding Jiayin, watched from the side.
Although Tao Hongying was angry, she was afraid of frightening Jiayin, so she turned her face away and coaxed her in a low voice.
Old Mrs. Li carefully examined the two people and guessed that they were also unfortunate people fleeing famine.
They only harbored evil intentions in order to survive, so it's not necessary to kill them.
If it hurts, it teaches a lesson, and that's it.
She waited a while, then loudly stopped her children and grandchildren, "Alright, stop it."
Upon hearing this, Li Laosi and his companions all stopped what they were doing.
"Get out! If you dare to steal again, I'll break your legs!"
Li Lao Er kicked one of the men hard, and the crowd made way for the two men to get lost.
The two men were beaten black and blue, and they didn't dare to have any more evil thoughts. They scrambled away as if they were afraid that the Li family would catch them and beat them again.
"Oh dear, it's the middle of the night, we just had our food stolen, and now we've been robbed again. How are we going to survive?"
Wu Cuihua plopped down on the ground and sighed deeply. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, she kicked the dairy goat with her foot.
Grandma Li and the others glanced at Wu Cuihua, too lazy to pay her any attention.
Seeing that no one responded, Wu Cuihua's face darkened, and she glanced at Tao Hongying with her shifty eyes before continuing her rambling.
"Mother, in my opinion, this dairy goat is the root of all trouble. If it weren't for it, would we be able to sleep so soundly at night? We should slaughter it as soon as possible, and then we won't have to go through all this trouble!"
She sat on the ground, her eyes fixed on the goat that Li Laosi was leading.
It seemed as if she would pounce on Old Lady Li and take a bite as soon as she nodded.
Old Mrs. Li's face darkened, her eyes filled with anger.
"Second son's wife! What did I say to you during the day? Were you out of your mind, or do you not care about your mother at all? Do you really think I wouldn't dare abandon you?"
Her tone was cold and harsh. Although she had been stern before, she had never spoken to her daughters-in-law like this before, which showed that she was furious.
Wu Cuihua trembled with fright, her mouth opened and closed a few times, but she couldn't utter a single word.
"This sheep belongs to Fu Niu'er. From today onwards, if anyone dares to mention slaughtering a sheep again, I will sell her to some boy!" Old Mrs. Li's eyes swept over the whole family.
But everyone knows that these words were meant for Wu Cuihua.
Li Lao Er quickly pulled his wife up from the ground and slapped her hard.
Now Wu Cuihua dared not speak out of turn anymore. She shrank behind Li Lao Er, her face flushed red and white, looking like a palette of colors.
The next morning, Zhao Yuru cooked breakfast for the Li family.
While eating, I saw the two men who had stolen sheep again; they were as hungry as wolves.
They stared at the Li family's rice bowl from afar, their eyes gleaming with greed, but they dared not approach the Li family's side even a step closer.
"We'll continue on our way in a bit. Fourth brother, you guys keep an eye on things and make sure they don't get close."
Old Mrs. Li glanced at the two men and gave Li Laosi some instructions.
Li Laosi nodded, tightening his grip on the wood-chopping knife. These two men had no families with them, making them no different from fugitives.
The Li family, however, has a large household to support; there's no need to get entangled with them.
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